Maine iGaming: Governor OKs Online Casinos; Opponents Vow Repeal
Governor Janet Mills announced Thursday she will allow a bill authorizing five Wabanaki Nations to operate Maine iGambling platforms in the state to become law. Critics immediately announced their intention to force a statewide referendum to nullify the move.
LD 1164 expands on Maine’s existing tribal gaming framework, following a 2022 law that granted the Wabanaki Nations exclusive rights to offer mobile sports betting statewide.
Under LD 1164, tribal governments will be permitted to operate iGaming platforms as a means of generating sustainable revenue, supporting economic development, and investing in tribal communities. Oversight and regulation will fall to Maine’s Gambling Control Unit.
Mills said she weighed concerns about gambling-related public health impacts but ultimately concluded regulation was preferable to continued unregulated activity.
“While I have concerns about the impacts of gambling on public health, I believe this new form of gambling should be regulated,” Mills said, adding that state regulators will be tasked with ensuring responsible standards while guaranteeing tribes benefit from the new market.
Tribal Leaders Welcome Decision
Tribal leaders across the state welcomed the decision, calling it a significant expansion of economic sovereignty and a continuation of a tribal-first gaming model already in place with mobile sports wagering.
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township Chief William Nicholas Sr. called the bill an “economic turning point,” noting that Maine’s mobile betting framework — which centers tribal ownership — has already strengthened tribal economies.
Other Wabanaki leaders echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that revenues from online gambling would fund core governmental services, infrastructure improvements, housing, education, public safety, and cultural programs, while also providing economic spillover benefits to surrounding rural communities.
Several chiefs also pointed to consumer protection benefits, noting that the law replaces unregulated offshore and black-market gambling with a tightly controlled, in-state system. Revenues generated under the bill support both tribal initiatives and state programs, including addiction services and emergency response funding.
By declining to veto the measure, the bill became law and took effect 90 days after the close of the upcoming session, barring emergency designation. Under Maine law, that date falls at midnight on Saturday, Jan. 10.
Maine iGaming Opponents Begin Push For 'People's Veto'
The National Association Against iGaming blasted Mills’ decision to reverse her long-standing opposition to online casino gambling. The organization said in a release that the decision "disregards overwhelming public opposition, expert warnings from her own regulators, and a proven gaming framework that has delivered meaningful benefits to Maine communities and tribal nations for more than a decade."
The organization added it plans to lead a referendum via Maine’s People’s Veto process to overturn the law. That requires a simple majority statewide.
"We are confident that when given the opportunity, Maine voters will reject this misguided expansion and reaffirm their commitment to responsible gaming policy grounded in transparency, caution, and accountability," the NAAIG said.
With LD 1164, Maine further cements a gaming model that places tribal governments at the center of the state’s expanding online gambling market — a structure that remains unique nationwide as more states debate iGaming legalization.
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